Carding of buttons and the like



March 29, 1955 H Kol-:HL 2,705,071

CARDING oF BUTTONS AND THE LIKE Filed April 15. 195o Hwmm Koe M INVENTOR.

BY C www United States Patent O CARDING OF BUTTONS AND THE LIKE Herman Kochi, Danielson, Conn., assignor to C. E. M. Company, Dayville, Conn., a partnership Application April 13, 1950, Serial No. 155,586

l Claim. (Cl. 20o-80) ivly invention relates to the carding of buttons and the lute. More particularly, it concerns novel means for snnulianeously but independently attaching to a card a plurality oi buttons having sew-on loops or ol similar articles having projecting loop portions that iriay be passed through holes in the card.

it has heretorore been the practice to attach a plurality ot buttons and the like to a card on whichthey are to be sold by sewing such items to the card with a single thread. 'ihis involved a laborious procedure and had the further disadvantage that, upon removal of one ot the items trom the cara, the thread was broken and all of the other items became loose.

The object of my invention is to overcome the toregoing disadvantages and to provide a simple means whereby a plurality of buttons or like sales items can be simultaneously attached to one side of a card, but independently removed therefrom. My novel means requires that the sales items to be attached possess projecting loop portions that are passed through holes in the card. i provide a locking member on the opposite side, preferably composed of a sheet or strip or inexpensive material having a series of integral tongues all pointing in the same direction and spaced correspondingly to the projecting loop portions or the items to be carded. By so arranging and constructing the locking member, a plurality of such tongues can be inserted simultaneously into an equal number of loop portions, thus attaching a plurality of the items to the c ard simply by sliding the locking member in the direction of the tongue. Thereafter, it is possible to remove one item at a time without loosening the remaining items from the card. The individual tongues are simply torn or bent away one by one leaving the remaining tongues engaged within their respective loops. The strength of the attachment may easily be regulated by a suitable choice of the material constituting the tongues or by varying the thickness thereof.

My invention will be more readily and iully unde r stood by reference to the accompanying drawings in which several embodiments are illustrated by way of example. In these drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a card provided with a series of openings through which the projecting loops of the items to be carded may be passed.

Fig. 2 is a similar view of a locking strip having a corresponding set of integral tongues suitable for engagement with the projecting portions of the loops,

Fig. 3 is a similar view of the back of the card, after the sew-on loops of a plurality of buttons (indicated by broken lines) have been inserted through the openings,

Fig. 4 is a side view of the assembly shown in Fig. 3,

Fig. 5 is a top view thereof,

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the back of the card with the locking strip placed against the card and the sew-on loops passing through corresponding openings iii the strip surrounding the tongues,

Fig. 7 is a similar view showing the locking strip in the locked position with its tongues passing through the sew-on loops,

Fig. 8 is a side view of the completed assembly shown in Fig. 7,

Fig. 9 is a plan view showing an alternative form of locking member in place, having several rows of openings and tongues, whereby several rows of items are simultaneously affixed to the card,

Fig. 10 is a similar view showing another form of ice locking member in place, in which the tongues project from one side of the strip, thereby eliminating the need for any openings whatever in said member, and

Fig. 11 is a plan View showing still another form of locking member in place, having a single guide opening into which a row of tongues project from one side, whereby the tongues may be readily aligned to lock a group of items simultaneously to the card.

According to one embodiment, as shown in Figs. 1 through 8 inclusive, my novel sales article comprises a card 1 having loop receiving slits 2 therein, and a locking strip 3 for simultaneously aixing a plurality of buttons 7 having projecting sew-on loops 6 to the card. Locking strip 3 has a series of openings 8 corresponding with the slits 2. A portion 4 of each opening 8 is unobstructed for fitting over one of said projecting loops 6, and another portion of each opening 8 is obstructed by a tongue 5 extending into it from one edge. The tongues 5 are aligned for simultaneous insertion into all the sew-on loops 6 that extend through the slits 2, thus locking the buttons 7 to the card 1 by a single sliding motion of the locking strip 3.

Figs. 3 through 8 inclusive show in detail the step by step procedure followed in accordance with the enibodiment of my invention described above. First, as shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, the sew-on loops 6 of a plurality of buttons 7 are inserted into the slits 2 of the card 1. Next, as shown in Fig. 6, the unobstructed portions 4 of the openings 8 in the locking strip 3 are placed over the projecting loops 6 and the strip 3 is brought against the card 1. A sliding motion of the locking strip 3 in the direction of the tongues 5 then serves to lock all of the buttons 7 to the card 1, as shown in Figs, 7 and 8. Any individual button 7 may thereafter be readily removed from card 1 without disturbing the remaining buttons by tearing or bending the corresponding tongue S of locking strip 3.

Fig. 9 illustrates an embodiment of my invention quite similar to the one fully disclosed in Figs. l through 8 inclusive. This includes several rows of openings and corresponding tongues, whereby several rows of buttons may be simultaneously attached to the card.

Another form of locking strip 13 is illustrated in Fig. l0. The strip 13 has a plurality of tongues 15 along one edge 19 for simultaneous insertion into the projecting loops 16 of the sales items (not shown) to be attached to the card 10. The assembly is similar to that previously described with reference to the other gures. This embodiment may also be modied by enclosing the group of tongues 15 within a guide opening 20 as shown in Fig. ll. The arrangement shown in Fig. ll may be further modilied in a manner similar to that shown in Fig. 9, that is, several openings 20 each with tongues 15, may be made in a wide locking sheet, to accommodate several rows of buttons.

In all of the foregoing embodiments of my invention the locking member may, if desired, be adhesively attached to the card in its locked position, in order to prevent any inadvertent release of the sales items from the card during handling of the assembled sales article. The materials of which the card and locking member are formed may be of various kinds, depending on the kind of tem to be carded and the strength of attachment desired. Usually the card will be composed of heavy paper or cardboard, although in some cases metal or a plastic may be preferred. The locking member is generally composed of a sheet of paper whose thickness will depend on how strongly the item is: to be attached to the card. ln some cases, it may be desired simultaneously to release all of the carded items and to reuse the locking member. In that event the locking member may be composed of a stronger material, such as metal or a plastic. Obviously the arrangement of the sales items on the card, the shape of the card and other such details are subject to considerable variation.

As many apparently widely different embodiments of the invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope hereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to its specific embodiments except as defined in the appended claim.

I claim:

Carded buttons comprising a card provided with a plurality of spaced slits, a plurality of buttons arranged in a single row on one side of the card, each having a sew-on loop passing through one of said slits, and a single locking strip on the opposite side of the card, said locking strip including a plurality of correspondingly spaced, flat, short, Wedge-shaped, integral tongues, each projecting freely in the same direction in the plane of the strip into a separate opening therein, and each passing through the sew-on loop of only one of said buttons, thus attaching the buttons to the card.

y References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

